After 5 months of counseling, we have a working diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD without the hyperactivity) with secondary Anxiety, a touch of perfectionism and perhaps a smidge of OCD. I see the Psychiatrist to get the official diagnosis for the 504 committee and to get the modifications and accommodations. With barely a glance at the 15-page patient history and 11 minutes…
Monthly Archives: March 2011
Learning to ride…one step at a time…
A Cowboy Needs a Horse Johnny lives in a big city, but has everything a cowboy could want (Everything, everything) He has a place to pan for gold (Panning, panning) And he has time to shoot a buffalo everyday (Shooting, shooting) And every night, he dreams he’s a cowboy riding the rangeFinally found the words…
Daydream Believer
Ya know, me and Google are really good friends. (Dr. Google and I broke up after I graduated Nursing School. He’s really a bad guy.) Anyway, do you daydream? I do. A lot. Usually, this happens when I am exhausted, or bored, or suffering from “I just got run over by a truck because of…
Getting Better All the Time
When Ian used to have school breaks, it was really rough. On all of us. His Early Intervention Provider had a really funky schedule and it was not uncommon for him to have 2-3 weeks off during winter holidays, spring break and summer. For a typical child, 2-3 weeks off is difficult. For a child…
Have You Tried Sign Language
Sign language seems to be the current cure-all for those dealing with speech issues with their children. You are bombarded with it either for your toddler who is just learning to talk or for your child whose speech is delayed. In the beginning I had a positive attitude about sign language. I introduced it to…
Doing what we already know…
Last Friday I reached a limit of frustration trying to get my daughter out the door to school. Three days a week I juggle all three kids in the morning, to get everyone fed, dressed, packed and dropped off at their respective schools. On Friday Daddy had to leave early for a meeting in the…
Take the High Road
I have witnesses a worrisome trend—couples divorcing after their special needs child reaches age 18. When the mom retains custody of the child, what is the continuing responsibility of the father? Will he remain involved in the life of the child? Will he continue providing financial support? Will he take the High Road?
Three Little Words
I know it’s not perfect, the medication J is on. But it’s doing something. It’s helping to quiet the activity in his brain…sometimes. It’s helping him to find more words, helping the words to find their place within a sentence, to communicate. I talk about watching our children’s achievements, however small, but sometimes these achievements…
Food is so frustrating! {with Made to Crave book giveaway}
As special needs parents, we give up a lot. Our time. Our energy. Some of our relationships. Our vision of what might have been our lives as a family. With all the things we give up, it would be really darned nice if we didn’t fall under the same rules of slowing middle-aged metabolism, so…
Where Red Tape Makes me Lose my Mind
I’m finally on the mend after the weirdest virus/cold I’ve never had! Thankfully, I learned well from my girls and I decided to share with them. In all honesty, I really need to teach them what IS appropriate to share and what isn’t. And I should probably take that lesson myself. Since Jillian was born,…